t LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. * 

# # 

I UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. J 



) 

PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S 
SUCCESSOR. 



BY 

FREDERICK MILNES EDGE. 

ft 



LONDON: 
WILLIAM BID Gr WAY, 169, PICCADILLY. W. 
1864. 



Price One Shilling. 



PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S SUCCESSOR. 



The rebellion of the Southern oligarchy is evi- 
dently upon its last legs, and, judging' from present 
indications, the Jinale cannot be far distant. No 
extra ordinar}^ acquaintance with American affairs, 
military or political, is at all necessary to appreciate 
this fact; for we need not step outside our own 
country to comprehend the situation. Sympathisers 
with the South in England have, latterly, cooled in 
their enthusiasm; motions for "recognition/' in 
Parliament, are no longer heard of; and the 
" Danish Question " has taken the place of the 
"American Difficulty" as the ground of attack 
upon Her Majesty's Government. Mail after mail 
arrives from the United States, bringing* us news 
of marches and countermarchings of armies, 
threatened attacks upon this or that point, and 
so forth ; but our people have lost interest in these 
details, feeling, doubtless, that European intervention 
being no longer probable, the result is reduced to 
a simple matter of time. It may be only a few 
months, it may be a year or more ; but the con- 
viction rapidly gains ground that, sooner or later, 
the South must submit and the Union be recon- 
structed on a firmer basis than ever. 

B 2 



4 

War, after all, is a question of resources. The 
South was certainly not in a position to compete, 
for any length of time, with an' antagonist so sur- 
passing* itself in military capability ; and its constant 
intriguing^ with European Powers for moral and 
physical aid was but a tacit acknowledgment of its 
own inherent weakness. To disappointment in its 
foreign expectations, distrust in its own people has 
now succeeded ; and while the North keeps faith 
with its own volunteers b}' sending them home at 
the expiration of their three years' term of enlist- 
ment, the South nullifies its engagements, not 
merely by forcing* men into the army who have 
already provided substitutes, but, still more, by 
compelling its troops to remain in the field during* 
its own will and pleasure. Argument, is valueless 
in face of facts like these ; and he must be wilfully 
blind who persists in ignoring such omens, or who 
continues to hope that the South has any possible 
advantage to gain from a prolongation of hostilities. 

The arbitrament of war having proved the futility 
of Secession, the Confederate leaders are not unlikely 
to attempt the winning-back of some of their former 
power by diplomacy. If return to the Union be 
unavoidable, favourable terms on re-entering the 
Union will of course be desired ; and these are more 
likely to be obtained from a democratic" adminis- 
tration than from the party now in office. By the 
middle of next July, the candidates for the Presi- 
dency will be known to the whole country ; and 



5 



between that period and the election in November 
it is morally certain that the South will do its 
utmost to insure the success of the K democratic " 
nominee, perhaps even to the extent of promising- a 
return to its allegiance in the event of his election. 
If, ho M ever, the overwhelming- majority of citizens 
in the loyal States, now styling themselves "the 
Union Party/' 7 place but a single candidate in the 
field, the result would not for a moment be doubtful ; 
but from present indications there are grounds for 
fearing that two or more representatives of that 
party may appeal to the electors, and thereby 
enable the minority to elect its nominee. 

The running of a third candidate in the Presi- 
dential election of 1844. insured the success of 
Mr. Polk and the u democratic " party ; the small 
vote of 62.270 given to the representative of the 
Abolitionists. Mr, Bir>~ey. being sufficient to defeat 
Henry Clay, notwithstanding that the Bir>'ey 
vote was less than one forty-third part of the entire 
number cast. It will indeed be a subject for 
profound sorrow if what has been achieved after 
such a terrible expenditure of life and treasure 
should be imperilled by party dissensions in the 
TSorth ; and such we fear must be the result if the 
entire body of loyal supporters of the Union are 
not thoroughly united on a single nominee. Xever 
in the history of the Republic has there been such 
a necessity for disinterestedness and self den vino- 
patriotism, as at the present crisis. The enormous 



6 



expenditure of the Government, and the vast 
number of offices, military and civil, created by the 
administration of President Lincoln, excite the 
ambitions and selfishness of thousands ; and in 
accomplishing the election of this or that candidate, 
they will rely upon his promises or sense of gratitude 
to place themselves in lucrative positions during the 
four years of the ensuing Presidential term. Others 
again take upon themselves to nominate prominent 
statesmen or generals, without at all consulting* 
their wishes previously \ in the hope that when the 
names thus proposed are withdrawn from the can- 
vass, the gentlemen nominated by them will stipulate 
with the successful candidate of the party for a 
favourable consideration of their late supporters. 
In all communities again, there are men blinded by 
personal ambition and overweening vanity, who, in 
default of a regular nomination from the party 
to which the}' profess to belong, are presumptuous 
enough to challenge the suffrages of the electors as 
" independent candidates f and of these three 
classes of Presidential aspirants above named, the 
last is by far the most dangerous at the present 
crisis in American affairs. The two former may be 
induced to withdraw from the canvass, or, as usually 
is the case, the decision of the Nominating Conven- 
tion for the Presidency may be made unanimous, 
and the members of the party be pledged to work 
and vote for him alone; but no action, other than 
abortive appeals to his patriotism, can be brought to 



7 



bear upon the u independent candidate/' who, with 
demagogic obstinacy, relies upon his assumed popu- 
larity for success, to the utter exclusion of principle 
and in senseless ignorance of the lessons of the 
past. 

It must be obvious to ever} 7 student of history 
that the task of reconstructing* the Union of power- 
ful belligerent States, is one of greater magnitude 
and difficulty than mere fighting, in the same pro- 
portion as sound, far-seeing statesmanship is less 
often to be found than successful generalship. More 
especially is this the fact in regard to the American 
Republic, for although the Southern States have 
placed themselves in the attitude of rebels against 
constituted authority, the North was certainly the 
aggressor in the first instance, and is responsible for 
the Revolution now progressing. Until the election 
of Abeaham Lincoln to the Presidency, the South 
had ruled the Union in the interest of Southern 
principles and domination; and it was in conse- 
quence of Northern change in sentiment and legis- 
lation, and the gradual but rapidly increasing- 
preponderance of that section in the councils of the 
nation, that the South resolved upon secession as 
the only means whereby to save its peculiar institu- 
tions, and to avert fundamental reforms which, by 
the voice of the majority, were certain to be forced 
upon it. When the now-absent States return to 
the Union, there are many other questions besides 
that of Slavery which must become* subjects of 



8 



earnest discussion ; questions which have already 
given rise to frequent debate, as well as others that 
have arisen during" the present war. We may 
regard the doom of Slavery as sealed. No surer 
proof of this can be required than that the pro- 
slavery " democratic " party of the Free States has, 
by its leaders, proclaimed the impossibility of long er 
maintaining' the institution in any section of the 
Republic ; but the problem of how best to deal with 
four millions of uneducated freedmen, will require 
time for solution, and, probably, long* years of anxious 
discussion and experiment. Outside of the Slavery 
difficult}' and its numerous ramifications, there are 
many questions fraught with danger, such, for 
instance, as the rights of States in face of the 
General Government, involving* the peculiar theory 
of the American political system, and the preeisel}'- 
defined and rigid maintenance of Federal and State 
sovereignty. The expediency of the General 
Government's interfering* in behalf of public works — 
as, for example, the construction of canals and rail- 
ways, the improvement of river navigation, &c. is an 
issue of deep political as well as commercial impor- 
tance to Americans, simple as it may appear to 
Europeans. And these are only a few, although 
striking examples of what the citizens of the Repub- 
lic will have to deal with and settle when the sword 
is laid aside and statesmen shall enter upon the 
arduous task of reconstruction. 

The power of the American people is invested in 



9 



CongTess to a greater extent than is known in any 
other legislative body. The President of the United 
States cannot appoint the members of his Cabinet, 
nor any Federal officer whatever, without the con- 
sent and endorsement of the Senate : he is but the 
executor of the national will as declared by the 
national representatives ; the servant, in fine, of the 
servants of the people. It is therefore of the first 
importance that the Chief Magistrate to be chosen 
in this crisis should be one who has given ample 
guarantees that he will carry out the will of the 
majority; not a mere representative or tool of a 
clique of political schemers, nor an ambitious man, 
ready, at a favourable opportunity, to thwart or 
control the national decision. The President pos- 
sesses to a limited extent the power of initiative : 
he can recommend to Congress the introduction of 
measures, and veto any legislative act which, in his 
judgment, may be detrimental to the interests of the 
Republic. It is this recommendatory power, shap- 
ing and directing as it were the national will, which 
invests the election of Mr. Lincoln's successor 
w ith such overwhelming importance ; for u recon- 
struction of the Union " means naught else than 
the new-birth of the Republic— the re-enacting of 
the fundamental law, upon and within which the 
whole assemblage of States is henceforward to be 
governed. 

It has frequently been asserted that Abraham 
Lincoln would not have been elected in 1860 but 



10 



for the division of the " democratic " party. Al- 
though it would be hazardous to declare at this 
early date that the " democracy 99 of the North will 
not unite this year upon a single candidate, yet all 
the indications are strongly against their so doing. 
The legitimate leaders of the party are now amongst 
the most prominent and determined of the Govern- 
ment's supporters, and the party itself is split up into 
factions — not two, as in I860, but into three appa- 
rently insoluble elements. How is it possible for 
men totally opposed to war with the South to unite 
with others professing to belong to the same school of 
political faith, but advocating the continuance of the 
war as the only means whereby to bring the Seceded 
States within the pale of the Union ? These, however, 
are the principles of " Peace" and " War democrats,'' 
and the former are again divided into opposing 
organizations, although on less accurately defined 
issues. At the present hour, General McClellan 
seems to be the candidate in whose favour the three 
factions are most likely to unite ; and it is certainly 
an anomaly that u peace" men — opposed to the 
war from the outset and, more strongly than ever, 
to its present continuance — should select a soldier 
as the exponent of their principles. It is more than 
probable, however, that no other candidate would 
be likely to unite so many votes of the "democratic" 
party ; and the nominating Convention may have 
to adopt him in the absence of a better. 

Geneeal McClellais's former popularity has 



11 



grievously diminished during* the past eighteen 
months, and never at any period was it more than 
local. His reputation was made, in the first 
instance, by the newspaper press for political pur- 
poses, and was confined almost solely to the army 
of the Potomac and the volunteers from the Atlantic 
States : beyond those limits — in the populous 
Western States especially — no enthusiasm for him 
was ever felt \ and it is not improbable that the 
Western delegates to the Democratic Nominating 
Convention may refuse to endorse his nomination. 
There is, however, no other available candidate for 
the party. True, General Grant has been named, 
and a leading newspaper organ has kept that 
officer's name constantly before its readers ; but 
General Grant is a fighting man pur sang, and 
an avowed opponent of slavery, besides which he is 
universally known to possess an indomitable will 
(obstinacy, some call it), and this quality would 
unsuit him for the purposes of the " democratic " 
leaders. Major-General George B. McClellan 
will, with almost certainty, be the Presidential 
candidate of the party ; but his election can only be 
made possible by division in the " Union " ranks, 
or, in consequence of some startling disaster to 
the Northern arms or policy between June and 
November. 

The " Union " party may be said to suffer from 
a plethora of suitable candidates, some of them 
possessing high claims to the consideration of their 



12 



fellow-citizens. And it could not well be otherwise, 
for the prominent and rising- statesmen of the North 
have, since an early period of the war, vied with 
each other in rendering' support to the Government, 
whether from motives of patriotism or from con- 
viction that such a course was the safest and 
shortest road to popularity. Of the three parties 
which divided the North at the last Presidential 
election, or, to be more accurate, the four— namely,the 
"Republicans," "Douglas" and "Brecken ridge," 
democrats, and the " BELL-and-EYERETT," or 
" American " organizations — all the leaders are now 
in the ranks of the " Union " majority. Some of 
them have already been named for the succession, 
and others may be proposed at, or before, the 
meeting" of the Nominating- Convention in June. 
Mr. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury, was 
the first to be brought forward in this connection, 
and truly he has deserved well of the Republic ; for 
his financial genius and tact have enabled the 
Government to carry on a long* and expensive war 
without stepping- outside the limits of the country 
for monetary aid. But Mr. Chase immediately 
frowned upon this unauthorized use of his name, 
preferring- to sacrifice his personal claims to im- 
perilling- a cause of which he is a foremost cham- 
pion 3 while, still further, the legislature of Ohio, 
his own State, has almost unanimously endorsed the 
re-nomination of Abraham Lincoln. Major- 
General Butler's name has been whispered as a 



13 



• candidate ; but that gentleman is too clear-headed 
and experienced a politician not to be aware that 
the strength of his many friends is offset by 
the number of his enemies. It will indeed be 
surprising* if he refuse to wait u until a more con- 
venient season" before allowing his reputation for 
sagacity to be endangered by injudicious advocacy. 
Others — professed u Union ? ' men equally with 
" Democrats " — have nominated General Geant 
for the succession; but the conviction gains ground 
universally that the next four years will require at 
the head of affairs, not a man who can simply 
govern soldiers, but one of proved decision and 
honest} 7 , who knows how to deal with statesmen and 
politicians. The latest candidate for Presidential 
honours is Major-General Fremont, and the 
only one from whom disaster to the ee Union " cause 
need be anticipated. Should this officer, whose 
public career hitherto has not been remarkable for 
success, allow his name to be made the rallying cry 
of a knot of disappointed politicians and foreign- 
born voters, he may, before the close of the present 
year, witness the discomfiture of a party of which 
he was the first, though unsuccessful, candidate for 
the Presidency, and in whose custody lies the future 
well-being of his countr}\ 

We may infer what would be the policy of a 
Government administered by General Fremont 
from the declaration of principles set forth at a 
public meeting held in the City of New York, on 



14 



the 18th of last March. After expressing itself as ■ 
being- " opposed to the present irresolute and feeble 
national policy, both foreign and domestic/ 7 the 
meeting' adopted the following string of resolutions 
as the ground for its support of Fremont's nomina- 
tion — 

1. A vigorous, consistent, concentrated prosecu- 
tion of the war against the insurgent armies in 
the field ; with adequate penalties for Treason, 
and no amnesty except to absolute submission. 

2. The right of Suffrage to be regulated by 
legislative bodies, and not prescribed by the 
Executive. 

3. No restoration of Civil Rights as an induce- 
ment to rebels to forswear themselves. 

4. No initiation of Serfdom by attaching the 
labourer to the soil. 

5. Absolute equality of all men before the law, 
without distinction of race or colour. 

6. Extension of the beneficent principles of the 
Homestead Law, and a liberal distribuion of 
bounty-lands among all soldiers. 

7. Paramount nationality, as opposed toasedi-' 
tious application of the doctrine of supreme 
State-rights. 

8. The rigid maintenance of the Monroe Doc- 
trine, so as to vindicate the Republican inte- 
grity of the Continent. 

9. A reformed and thoroughly American foreign 
policy, without regard to the opinions or me- 
naces of foreign Powers. 



15 



10. A liberal system of foreign immigration. 

11. The one-term principle for the Presidency, so 
as to secure the integrity of the incumbent 
until the last hour of his office, and prevent the 
distribution of his patronag-e for the subjuga- 
tion of the constituency by office-holders. 

There are two main ideas running through this 
chain of resolutions, one having reference to the 
war now being waged against the seceders, the other 
to the foreign relations of the country. Both alike 
appeal to the worst passions of the community, and 
if adopted by the majority as the future policy of 
the Republic, must render peace impossible at home 
and abroad for many years to come. The success 
which has attended President Lincoln's amnesty 
proclamation and its startling results, as seen in the 
number of prominent Southern leaders who have 
availed themselves of its provisions, ought to have 
convinced the endorsers of the above resolutions that 
a still more decided and general conciliatory policy 
must be adopted as the war nears its close. Confis- 
cation acts against individuals may, in extreme cases, 
be admissible, but the attempt to enforce such mea- 
sures against a powerful and resolute community 
like the South, is worse than Utopian, whilst the 
threat implies weakness, passion and ignorance. 
Russia herself, in the dire attempt to absorb the 
Poles into her Muscovite nationality has never 
openly avowed such a callous policy as that defined 
in these resolutions ; and were it within the range 



of probability that this declaration of principles 
should be carried into effect as the policy of Mr. 
Lincoln's successor, the sympathies of all Europe 
would infallibly be transferred to those who are now 
in rebellion against lawful government. 

Resolutions 8 and 9 seem to have been taken 
almost bodily from the u democratic platform"* of 
1856, as the following extracts will show. 

2. (c Resolved, — That our geographical and politi- 
" cal position, with reference to the other States 
u of this continent, no less than the interest of our 
" commerce, and the development of our grow- 
" ing power, require that we should hold sacred 
" the principles involved in the Monroe doc- 
" trine.t Their bearing and import admit of 
" no misconstruction, and should be applied 
u with unbending rigidity." 
5. " Resolved,— That the Democratic party will 
cc expect of the next Administration that 
u every proper effort be made to ensure our 
" ascendency in the Gulf of Mexico," &c. 

* Americans retain the old signification of the word " plat- 
form." Dr. Johnson defines it to mean fourthly — " a scheme, 
a plan and Hooker speaks of the "platform of Geneva." 
Bacon, in the Essays, describes " a platform (or plan) of a 
princely garden," and "Woodward writes — " They who take in 
the entire platform, &c. will discern how these propositions flow 
from them." In England we seem to have almost forgotten the 
former use of the word. 

f The much talked of " Monroe Doctrine" was the indivi 
dual expression of opinion of President Monroe in his annual 



17 



The Government of the United States has never 
yet attempted to carry out the policy suggested by 
President Monroe, and the " Doctrine" has re- 
mained what it was intended to be at first, a simple 
protestation against foreign interference with the 
internal concerns of the American continent. But 
what President Monroe suggested in the nature 
of an abstract principle, the partisans of General 
Fremont seem resolved to elevate into an openly 
avowed policy of the national government : their 
action, in fact, is almost a reissue of the infamous 
Ostend Manifesto of Messrs. Buchanan, Mason, 
and Soule, which was endorsed by the " Demo- 
cratic" Convention of 1856, but derided and disa- 
vowed by the (C Republican" party in the following 
manly and unmistakeable terms. 

" Resolved, — That the highwayman's plea that 
" c might makes right/ embodied in the Ostend 

message to the Congress of 1823. The following is the precise 
wording : — 

" That it is impossible for the Allied Powers to extend their 
political system to any part of America without endanger- 
ing our peace and happiness, and equally impossible, 
therefore, that we should behold such interference with 
indifference. 

" That the occasion has been judged proper for asserting, as 
a principle, in which the rights and interests of the United 
States are involved, that the American continents, by the 
free and independent condition which they have assumed 
and maintained, are henceforth not to be considered as sub- 
jects for future colonization by any other Power." 

B 



18 



lt Circular, was in every respect unworthy of 
" American diplomacy, and would bring* shame 
" and dishonour upon any government or 
" people that gave it their sanction."* 
The late unanimous resolution of the House of 
Representatives at Washington is in nowise tanta- 
mount to an endorsement and open avowal of the 
Moneoe Doctrine-t It simply confines itself to 
deploring the events which have transpired in 
Mexico during- the past three years, the House of 
Representatives pledging* itself on behalf of the 
American people and government never to recog- 
nise the monarchy forced upon the Mexicans by the 
bayonets of an European power. 

The expression of an opinion by a legislative body 
is widely different from the avowal of a policy by 
an Executive, for the latter may come into collision 
with foreign Powers, whilst the former, unless 

* This was the sixth resolution of the first National Eepub- 
lican Convention, held in the City of Philadelphia on the 17th 
day of June, 1854. Colonel Ekemont was then nominated 
for the Presidency in opposition to the " Democratic" candi- 
date, James Buchanan. 

f " 'Resolved, — That the Congress of the United States are 
unwilling by silence to leave the nations of the world under 
the impression that they are indifferent spectators of the de- 
plorable events now transpiring in the Eepublic of Mexico ; 
therefore they think it fit to declare that it does not accord 
with the people of the United States to acknowledge a monar- 
chical Government, erected on the ruins of any republican 
Government, under the auspices of any European Power." 



19 



influencing' or controlling* the government, may be 
regarded as a domestic matter alone. There is 
small likelihood, however, of General Fremont's 
being" required to endorse and carry out the u plat- 
form" laid down for him : his supporters are almost 
exclusively to be found amongst the German immi- 
grants, a bod} 7 " of men numerous enough, it is true, 
to defeat the nominee of the Union party under cer- 
tain eventualities, but powerless of themselves to 
ensure the success of any candidate. 

It is somewhat strange that the name of William 
Henry Seward has never yet been mentioned in 
this war of the succession, and it may appear to some 
that his seeming want of supporters furnishes addi- 
tional proof of the ingratitude of Republics. No 
man in the United States has so well deserved of 
his fellow-citizens as this eminent statesman, who, 
after long years of services in and out of Congress, 
has earned the undisputed title of Father of the 
Republican, or anti-Slavery party. When the actors 
in this second Revolutionary War have passed from 
the scene, and History with impartial hand shall 
have written the biographies of the men now sway- 
ing the destinies of empires, William Henry 
Seward will indubitably be regarded as the De- 
stroyer of American Slavery, and the Author of 
American Unity. It is never the violent denuncia- 
tions of dogmatical humanitarians which change the 
principles and policy of nations, for their harangues 
makes truth appear distasteful and dangerous to the 

B 2 



20 



unreflecting-; but it is the far-seeing-, persevering 
statesman, with cool head and warm heart, who 
confronts his opponents incessantly, and calmly, 
confidently bides his time, until the moment arrives 
when reform has the majorit}^ on its side, and protest 
may beneficially give way to action. We cannot 
but feel respect for that small but brave and talented 
minority in the United States who, during* long- 
years, have foug-ht the battle of freedom for the 
slave through g*ood and evil report, ofttimes to the 
bitter death : we applaud the daring- of such men as 
Garrison, Phillips, Cheever and Beecher, 
and drop a tear of faltering* admiration upon the 
grave of John Brown ) but such men are only able 
to pull down existing edifices, seldom, if ever, 
capable of building- up the temple of a nation's 
future from the ruins of the past. Cavour's most 
bitter enemies were Italians who sought for that 
unity which he alone knew how to accomplish ; and 
Be ward is most contemned and misrepresented by 
the very men who have long' harang-ued in behalf of 
freedom, but who desire to secure its triumph in 
their own way alone. This, after all, is human 
nature. The Apostles complained to the Saviour 
of certain men who were casting- out devils in his 
name — because they did not belong to their set. 

The statesman who, for many long- years, has 
fought the battle of liberty ag*ainst the Slave oli- 
garchy ; who freely accepted the nomination of 
4.J3RAHAM Lincoln when, in strictest justice, he 



21 



had the highest right to that nomination himself ; 
who cordially endorsed the Emancipation Proclama- 
tion of January 1st; 1863; who advised the imme- 
diate rendition of the captured envoys, Mason and 
Slidell, eventually carrying his point and thereby 
preventing a hazardous war with this country ; 
who, in fine, has succeeded in maintaining amicable 
relations with foreign Powers notwithstanding in- 
comparable difficulties, surely such a man has ac- 
quired claims to the gratitude of his fellow-citizens 
deserving the highest reward. Yet Mr. Seward's 
name has never been mentioned in the list of can- 
didates, and his absence from the Presidential arena 
cannot but be regarded as an additional proof of his 
disinterest ed patriotism, and evidence conclusive of the 
influence which he noiselessly wields over the minds 
and action of the political leaders of his country. 

The indications are numerous and precise that 
Abraham Lincoln will be renominated by the 
Union Convention, and probably on the first ballot. 
The Legislatures of several States have already re- 
corded their voices in his favour, whilst not one of 
those bodies has recommended the election of any 
other candidate, Union or Democratic. The Legis- 
latures in question represent the three geographical 
sections of the free North, namely the Eastern, 
Western, and Middle States 5 and if we may regard 
their decisions as indices of the majority's verdict, 
Mr. Lincoln's nomination and re-election are al- 
ready assured. 



22 



The choice of a President of the United States 
is not decided by a direct vote of the citizens, but 
by a clear majority of all the votes in the Electoral 
College. The number of members in this body 
varies every four years; — thus, in 1856, there were 
296 Presidential Electors, whilst, in 1860 the num- 
ber had increased to 303 : in the former case, 149 
votes were requisite for the appointment; in the 
latter, 152. This year, the Electoral College con- 
sists of 321 members, and 161 votes will therefore 
have to be cast to insure an election ; otherwise the 
decision must be transferred to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, when each State deposits only a single 
vote. The number of Presidential voters for the 
time being is equal to tbe list of members in both 
Houses of Congress ; each State being entitled to as 
many u Electors" as it has Representatives in the 
lower branch of the Federal Legislature, 'plus two 
" at large," answering to its two Senators. Thus 
the State of ~New York having 31 Representatives 
in Congress, its Electoral vote is 33 ; whilst Dela- 
ware, Kansas, and Oregon, having but sufficient 
population for a single Representative, give only 
three votes each for President. The rival political 
parties in the different States select the gentlemen 
who shall pronounce in favour of either of the can- 
didates for the Presidency ; and that set, or u ticket" 
of Electors which receives the greatest number of 
popular votes in each State on the 8th of next No- 



£3 

vember* will have the right to declare for which of 
the candidates the entire Electoral vote of their 
State shall be cast. 

The Nominating' Conventions are constituted in 
a similar manner to the Electoral College, the 
delegates being appointed by the political bodies in 
the several States. The vote, however, is direct in 
the Conventions for President and Yice-President 
of the Republic ; and the gentlemen then nominated 
are understood to be the candidates of the respective 
parties throughout the Union* 

The events of the past four year3 have awakened 
a power which has not hitherto shown itself in 
American politics 3 one that must henceforward 
exert a controlling influence upon public affairs in 
that country. Until lately, the business men of the 
United States have studiously held aloof from the 
political arena 5 not merely on account of the greater 
fascination of mercantile pursuits but, still more, 
from dislike for politics and disgust at the class into 
w T hose hands politics had fallen. The observation 
has been made that it was only the best men in the 
South and the worst in the North w T ho interested 
themselves aforetime in public affairs ; and we need 
no better proof of the accuracy of this assertion than 
former lists of candidates for office in the two sec- 
tions. Now, however, the merchants and bankers 

* The law of Congress requires Presidential Electors to be 
chosen on the Tuesday following the first Monday in Novem- 
ber. 



and business men generally in the centres of com* 
merce and population feel themselves compelled to 
watch and control political movements ; feeling- that 
they of all others have the greatest interests at stake. 
The instinct of self-preservation is stronger in the 
business community than in any other ; and so soon 
as these men discovered that an enormous national 
debt was being* accumulated, they felt that propor- 
tionate taxation must follow as a necessary conse- 
quence; and that they would be expected to shoul- 
der the heaviest burdens. To this class of all others 
the Presidential question is an issue of overwhelm- 
ing importance, for it involves the maintenance of 
peaceful relations with the outside world as well as 
the preservation of those interests which have grown 
up during the past four years. The u democracy" 
has always been recognised as the war party in the 
Republic, and its leaders have not disguised their 
opinion that hostilities with some foreign Power 
would be the surest means whereby to restore the 
Union. On the other hand, the supporters of the 
present government, as well as the present govern- 
ment itself, constantly maintain that the contest 
with the rebellion must be decided on its own merits ; 
and the administration of President Lincoln 
affords them the fullest guarantees that amicable 
relations will continue to be cultivated with other 
Powers. We have incontrovertible evidence of this 
fact in the adverse vote of the Senatorial Committee 
on Foreign Affairs upon the Mexican resolution of 



25 



the House of Representatives; that Committee as 
well as the Senate itself being- peculiarly susceptible 
of administrative impression. 

A change of government at the present crisis 
must be viewed with alarm by the business com- 
munity of the North; on financial as well as purely 
political grounds. Under the auspices of President 
Lincoln's administration; the entire banking system 
of the Free States has been remodelled ; Federal 
bonds and guarantees have been substituted for 
State securities; and the paper issues of countless 
local banks have given way to what are universally 
known as " Greenbacks." Commercial men would 
of course hail with satisfaction an early return to a 
specie currency; but they would not willingly ex- 
change the paper of the present administration for 
the bank-notes of former 3-ears. Prior to Mr. Lin- 
coln's inauguration as President; nearly every 
money -trading corporation in the Union was a bank 
of issue : many of the States in the North; and 
especially in the South; possessed ineffectual bank- 
ing laws; or laws that could easily be evaded ; and 
nobody was safe in making purchases of even a few 
shillings in value without careful reference to a 
voluminous u Bank-note Detector." Counterfeiting 
was easy ; and in many cases almost impossible of 
discovery by the uninitiated ; banks were closing 
daily; their issues remaining oftentimes for months 
in circulation; whilst a considerable proportion of the 
notes were so valueless as promises to pay that they 



26 

had earned the expressive names of "shin-plasters/' 
and u wild cat currency." Secretary Chase has 
introduced order and security in place of all this 
confusion ; and whatever may be said against the 
financial ability of the u Father of all the Green- 
backs/' he has certainly enabled his fellow-citizens 
to carry on trade in every portion of the Union, 
under Federal jurisdiction, without the constant loss 
of exchange and the risk which formerly existed. 
The a democratic " party makes no secret of its op- 
position to the financial policy of the present Govern- 
ment ; and were its nominee successful in the pend- 
ing* contest for the Presidenc} 7 , one of the first acts 
of the new administration would be to return to the 
old system of State guarantees and local banking 
corporations. The business community" of the North 
would never reconcile itself to the possibility of such 
a change in the financial system of the country. 

The main opposition to President Lincoln's re- 
nomination by his own party, and to his re-election 
by the u democracy/' will be founded upon his con- 
duct of the war ; for it must not be ignored that all 
power returns this year into the hands of the 
sovereign people, who will sit in judgment upon his 
policy and hold him solely responsible for the past 
administration of every department of the Govern- 
ment. In the Executive of the United States there 
is no divided responsibility, no ministerial account- 
ability as with us ; the acts of the President's 
subordinates are his own, and he can never shift 



27 



the onus from his shoulders to theirs. If there be 
one branch of the public service which has appa- 
rently been less fortunately administered than the 
others, it is, perhaps, the War Department ; and 
yet the successes are astonishing- when we take into 
account the extent of territory over which armies 
have had to operate, and the difficulty of maintain- 
ing* communications in the semi-barbarous South. 
The Slave-holding* States had been preparing- for 
hostilities from the period of the introduction of the 
Nebraska-Kansas Bill into Congress (1854): under 
the Presidency of James Buchas as, the Northern 
arsenals were emptied of their weapons and accou- 
trements, the ships of war despatched to far distant 
latitudes, the regular army distributed along* the 
immense Western frontier, and the financial credit 
of the Government purposely depreciated to sixteen 
per cent discount. Under this disheartening* con- 
dition of affairs, with no arms or other materiel of 
war in the North, without a dollar in the Treasury 
or troops at his disposal, and with not even the 
skeleton of a military organization upon which to 
build up an army, the new President had to confront 
a rebellion of twelve millions of population, fully 
prepared to withstand his authority. No wonder 
that victory seemed at the outset to wanton with 
the Seceders, or that the controlling minds of the 
North, new to office, failed to appreciate the magni- 
tude of the crisis ! 

The contest between North and South is one for 
the possession of territory, and possession is nine 



28 



points of military strength as it is also nine points 
of law* There is small utility in discussing' the 
relative prowess of the two belligerents when we 
have solid, hard facts appealing- to our reason, and 
compelling us to anticipate the future by the 
teachings of the past. The shrinkage of the Rebel- 
lion in area and population is the best test we can 
have of the relative strength of the contending 
sections, whilst, at the same time, it affords us a 
proper criterion whereby to judge of President 
Lincoln's management of the war. 

The following tables give the condition of the 
Rebellion at the period of Mr, Lincoln's advent to 
power and its losses to the present time : — 

Area and Population of the Confederacy 





IN 1861. 




States. 


Area. 




POPULATI 


Alabama . 


50,722 s 


|. miles. 


. 964,201 


Arkansas . 


. 52,198 


» 


. 435,450 


Florida 


. 59,268 


a 


. 140,425 


Georgia 


. 58,000 


» * 


. 1,057,286 


Kentucky . 


. 37,680 




. 1,155,684 


Louisiana . 


. 46,431 


i) 


. 708,002 


Maryland . 


9,356 


a 


. 687,049 


Mississippi . 


. 47,156 


a 


. 791,305 


Missouri . 


. 67,380 


n 


. 1,182,012 


North Carolina 


. 45,000 


n 


. 992,622 


South Carolina 


. 24,500 


a 


. 703,706 


Tennessee . 


. 45,600 


a • 


* . 1,109,801 


Texas 


. 257,320 




. 604,215 


Virginia 


61,352 


» 


. 1,596,318 


Territories . 


. 360,427 


it 


. 220,000 


Total . 


1,222,390 




12,348,078 



29 

Losses of the Confederacy to 1864. 



States. 


Area. 




Population. 


Alabama . i 


10,722 sq. miles. 




Arkansas* . 


52,198 


» • 


435,450 


Florida 


t 




t 


Georgia 


1,000 




50,000 


Kentucky* . 


37,680 


?> 


. 1,155,684 


Louisiana . 


T 


>> 


t 


Maryland* . 


9,356 


if 


687,049 


iVl i cci qci nni 

lTllOOlOOipjJl . • 


t 


» 


+ 

* 1 


Missouri* . 


67,380 




. 1,182,012 


Nortli Carolina . 


10,000 


>> 


. 100,000 


South Carolina . 


500 




53,706 


Tennessee* 


45,600 


}} 


. 1,109,801 


Texas 


t 


„ ■ ~ -.' 


f : W 


Virginia 


36,352 


3> *■ 


. 796,318 


Territories . 


360,427 


i> 


. 220,000 


Part Total . 


631,215 




5,890,020 



The so-called Southern Confederacy can now 
claim but 354,744 square miles of territory, and 
4,585,500 inhabitants that is to say, it has lost 
more than two-thirds of its area, and upwards of 

* The States of Arkansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and 
Tennessee are absolutely gained back to the Union, their Execu- 
tives and Legislatures acknowledging the Government at Wash- 
ington, and repudiating the authority of Mr. Jefferson Davis. 
The Federal forces in those States act merely as " Police" to 
protect the inhabitants from predatory bands of guerillas. 

■f The States of Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas are 
in transitu, belonging as much to the North as to the South. 
It would not be honest to claim them for either of the bellige- 
rents, although the trend of events foreshadows an early decision, 



30 



three-fifths of its population. According' to the 
American theory of Executive responsibilit}^ the 
credit of this grand result belongs to President 
Lincoln alone ) and we may be permitted to doubt 
whether any of his numerous critics would have ac- 
complished as much in so short a time. Secretary 
Chase expressed this opinion in a speech delivered 
at Columbus, in the State of Ohio, last October. 
" Sometimes/' remarked that gentleman, u to be 
sure, I have thought the war did not go on so fast 
as it ought ; that some mistakes might have been 
avoided — some misfortunes averted. Doubtless you 
have all sometimes thought the same. We have all, 
no doubt, thought that if we only had the power we 
could push matters faster ; correct some evils ; avoid 
some delays ; but it is easier to stand off and cri- 
ticize than to take hold and do. The President, 
you may rely on it, is not unmindful of his respon- 
sibility ; but is honestly and earnestly doing his 
best." Words, however, come from whom they 
may, carry no such weight as the simple record 
above given of the conquests of the Northern armies. 

There are other charges brought against Mr. 
Lincoln other than the accusation of military mis- 
management and failure. He is represented by his 
opponents and detractors as a man of but second- 
rate ability, and of being lukewarm, or "conser- 
vative," in regard to liberty. How the former 
opinion could be advocated we are at a loss to ima- 
gine, remembering his remarkable discussion with 



31 



Stephen A. Douglas, the recognised leader of the 
" Democratic" party and one of the ablest states- 
men of the Eepublic. That Mr. Lincoln should be 
accused of lukewarmness for liberty is somewhat 
amusing- in face of his Emancipation Proclamation 
and his earnest endeavours to ameliorate the con- 
dition of the Negro. That Proclamation, in 
its wonderful brevity, and terse, hardy phraseo- 
logy, is worth all the abolition harangues ever de- 
livered j and were it possible to obtain the opinions 
of the negroes themselves, we should doubtless find 
" Father Abraham" endorsed by them as a truer 
benefactor than all the professed abolitionists and 
" free-soilers" put together whom the United States 
ever produced. 

The gentlemen who assume the right to question 
the President's humanity appear to labour under 
the conviction that the war in which their country 
is engaged is one for the exclusive benefit of the 
negro. To men, however, whose judgments are not 
befogged by a short-sighted philanthropy, there are 
other issues involved in this contest equalling — aye, 
immeasurably exceeding — the claims to justice of 
the oppressed coloured man \ for it will not assuredly 
be denied that the interests of twenty-eight millions 
of whites are more important than those of four 
millions of blacks. Mr. Lincoln has responsibilities 
weighing upon his shoulders which no other indivi- 
dual in the Union can properly appreciate. He has 
taken no oath to abolish an institution which existed 



32 



years before his birth ; but he has sworn in the 
most solemn manner possible to maintain the Union 
of the States, and, so far as Providence will enable 
him, to hand the Federal authority unimpaired to 
his successor. Nor is the mere subjection of the re- 
volted region the only duty which he has to perform. 
To him " all thing's may be right, but all things are 
not expedient ?' and, as a wise and merciful ruler, 
he must study to reform abuses with as little confu- 
sion and discord as possible, moulding the policy of 
his government to suit conflicting ideas and seem- 
ingly adverse interests. He will thus be enabled to 
establish freedom for all on a solid and enduring 1 
basis, and to satisfy the entire body of his fellow - 
citizens, from the Lakes to the Gulf, that — for the 
States, to form " one people, nation and govern- 
ment" — " the country must be all one thing, or all 
the other." This is Abraham Lincoln's own lan- 
guage ; and his acts during the past three years 
have given full guarantees of the strength of his 
convictions and his honesty and courage of purpose. 

There are strong* reasons influencing the reflecting 
portion of the American people in favour of Mr. 
Lincoln's retention in the Presidential office. They 
regard a change in the Executive at the present 
crisis as exceedingly dangerous to the interests of 
the country, analogous, in fact, to the dismissal of 
a general in the middle of an action ) and they con- 
sider that, inasmuch as the rebellious South made 
his election in 1860 the pretext for secession, it is 



83 



due to their own self-respect to continue him iu 
office until the Seceded States acknowledge- his 
authority. Then again, the next four years will be 
likely to give more work to statesmen and legisla- 
tures than to generals and armies ; and Mr. Lin- 
coln's universally recognised probity, his long- 
avowed hostility to compromise, his tact and deter- 
mination, will be especially needed in the discussions 
which are likely to ensue. It is not the least of his 
merits that he possesses the power of reconciling* the 
opinions and advice of conflicting- counsellors, nor 
that he has proven himself able to induce men of 
adverse political views to work harmoniously toge- 
ther for the general good. Popular clamour has 
had no effect whatever upon his resolves ; for when 
the great majority of his fellow- citizens have seemed 
to demand the retention of this or that officer^ dis- 
missal has frequently followed ; whilst universal out- 
cr} r against others has calmed into silence beneath 
the unwavering stedfastness of his individual deter- 
mination. Other men may possess equal fixity of 
purpose, and the same inflexible honesty and 
courage; but no one among them has been subjected 
to the same terrible ordeal of responsibility. It 
is not therefore surprising that the reflecting and 
practical majority of the American people should 
determine to continue him in office, preferring the cer- 
tainty of a tried executive career to the problema- 
tical advantages of change. 

Mr. Lincoln's re-election to the Presidency will 

c 



84 



prove beneficial to the interests of our country, whilst 
his retirement from office might possibly lead to 
serious difficulties between the Governments of Great 
Britain and the United States. One of the foremost 
of English statesmen has said, " We may not have 
another President so placable as Lincoln, or another 
Minister of State so pliant and conciliatory as 
Seward to deal with." All must endorse this remark 
who are aware of the embittered feeling's of the 
American people, caused by the devastations of our 
English-built Confederate privateers. President 
Lincoln and the party he represents have studiousty 
courted friendly relations with foreign Powers, more 
especially with this country ; and we have ample 
guarantees in the events of the past three yeai*3 
that nothing' will be left undone by them to preserve 
and improve existing relations. 

Outside of considerations personal to ourselves — 
looking upon this question of the Succession as 
affecting Americans alone, — Mr. Lincoln's re-elec- 
tion to the Presidency will certainly be regarded as a 
debt nobly paid to a deserving Chief Magistrate ; 
and a reiterated determination on the part of the 
American people to settle this contest with the re- 
bellious South upon' its own true merits. 

London, May 1864. 



THE END. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




012 027 971 3 f 



